fuzzi's Chicken Journal

[Shadrach]

Just an FYI: I searched and browsed through the articles and forums here on BYC, but could not find one description of how a solid back was attached to the cattle panel hoop. I did see one photo where it looked as if they'd used plumber's strap, but my siding is only 1/3" thick, so screws wouldn't work very well.

I've used P Clips in the past.
https://nyfast.com/home/10290-p-clips-stainless-steel
Stronger than zip ties and plastci clips. A nut and bolt through the plywood makes a very strong join.

 

[fuzzi]

I've used P Clips in the past.
https://nyfast.com/home/10290-p-clips-stainless-steel
Stronger than zip ties and plastci clips. A nut and bolt through the plywood makes a very strong join.

Thank you. I found some on Amaz0n, but am going to see if they're available locally.

I have some pipe holders:

 

[fuzzi]

Saturday forecast was sunny, mild. And it was correct!

I made coffee, then headed to Lowe's. I bought some shorter screws (1", 1 5/8"), a spare roll of hanging strap, some jigsaw blades, and a couple packages of P-clips as @Shadrach had recommended. They didn't have metal ones, so I got the black plastic ones.

I stained the back of the coop first.

I had to add additional coats of stain as it dried. That panel was thirsty!

I decided to work on the door frame next.

First I checked my original hoop coop to refresh my memory.

Hanging strap used to attach the top of the door frame to the cattle panel, on the outside of the cattle panel.

Done. And level.

Close enough.

Next up are the sides of the door frame. On the current coop they're attached on the outside of the frame, but on this coop there's more of a gap between the end of the cattle panel hoop and the frame. I'll need to attach the door frame sides (uprights) to the inside of the frame.

I measured, cut, and attached two sections of 2x4 to the top of the door frame. Then I attached the left upright to the top of the door frame.

The added width on the top allows the upright sections to fit properly.

After I adjusted the left side upright slightly to get it plumb I added a screw at the bottom to secure it. Then I added the right upright in the same manner.

I had a little leftover stain from doing the siding, so I applied it to the door frame.

The back was dry, so I sawed off the uneven areas on the top, and snipped off the ends of the zip-ties.

The back is done!


Next is the hardware cloth. I'm enlisting my DS for that, he's been forewarned.


Note: I made the door frame taller and wider than the first coop for easier access with equipment (garden cart) and to be less painful on the heads of my tall chicken sitters.

 

[fuzzi]

During one of my breaks from construction I checked for eggs.

Martha...

Yep. She's going broody.

She went all jellyfish when I removed her from the box and put her on the roost.

Then she tried to make a nest under the main roost, in the back of the coop. Uh, nope.

I got my cat's carrier and placed a couple pieces of wood inside, then added her. The wood was to keep her from being comfortable enough to nest.

A couple hours later I let her out, and she didn't try to get in a nest for the remainder of the day.

Here's hoping I can break her broodiness. Once the coop is finished and the flocks are divided, then I would be fine with a broody.

Right now I am enjoying the eggs!

Pickled eggs!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Looks good!

Awww Martha! Just a little while longer and you can have some babies. Patience girl

 

[fuzzi]

Looks good!

Awww Martha! Just a little while longer and you can have some babies. Patience girl

She was the hen who hatched out Zacchaeus, April 11th last year.

 

[fuzzi]

Sunday afternoon...

I made it to church but didn't have much energy or ambition to start the hardware cloth part of the build when I got home. But I made myself go outside to putter.

I cleaned the current waterers, removed the rubber tub waterers, scraped the A-frame roost, cleaned out the nest boxes, added straw, straightened a section of fencing by the coop, and raised the shade cloth so the chickens get a little more afternoon sun. Not hard work, just puttering.

When I went over to the second coop I noticed that I had missed adding a couple zip-ties on the back panel. I tried trimming it a little, but messed up.

I located a small piece of wood and attached it to the inside of the back panel. The 1 1/4" screws are just a tad too long, but I will go back later and add an extra washer, which should fix the issue.

Or I might try using the P-clips that @Shadrach recommended!

I still wanted to do more, so I decided to add the roost. I found out with the first hoop coop that it's easier to do that before adding the hardware cloth.

I needed a 6' 2x4. I found it, attached to a sheet of plywood, stored in the shed. It was one of Ron's started projects, now it will help me with my project.

Here it is after I removed the 2x4.

The second attached 2x4 is going to be more difficult to remove, as it appears that the screws are stripped. Oh well.

I attached the roost with hanging straps.

Once it was fairly level I added a second strap on both ends, for stability.

And the roost is done!

Before the chickens move in I'll devise something else as "steps" to the roost.

 

[fuzzi]

What I have been doing this week after work...

Weeding and turning the soil in the raised beds.

Then today I also began setting up my rainbarrels.

Wisp approves.

I'm off tomorrow, Friday, and am hoping to get the hardware cloth portion of the build at least started.

 

[fuzzi]

Friday

It was chilly Friday morning, and I was not motivated to go outside early, so I worked on my garden planting charts.

It felt a lot colder, barely made 50° by noon.

I used the first barrel I placed as a height guide, measured the downspout, marked it, measured again, and confirmed it. Then I used a hacksaw to cut the downspout.

After I took this photo I drilled pilot holes, then attached the elbow to the downspout with the original screws.

I placed two concrete blocks on the ground, underneath the downspout, adjusted them until they were level. Then I added two more blocks at right angles, and made sure they were level as well.

And then I placed the barrel into position.

But when I attached an overflow hose between the first and second barrel I noted that the downspout barrel was a couple inches lower than the overflow barrel, not good.

However, I was able to raise the first barrel using two 16"x8"x2" blocks that I had on hand, and it still fit under the downspout! I shimmed both barrels using a paint stick and a broken piece of lattice. Now they're beautifully level.

To finish I attached a hose to the second barrel for overflow. It's temporarily going over to and into my pond.

Then I dug up and placed a few groundcover plants around and between the barrels.

 

[fuzzi]

Saturday

It was a lovely Saturday, calm before the expected storms, and my son was available to assist with the build, so outside I went!

Look at what was on sale this morning, woo!

I removed two rolls of 48" x 50' hardware cloth from the shed.

Note: I highly recommend that you snip the HWC packaging wire on either side of where it is attached, in the middle of the roll, so it doesn't unfurl itself before you're ready to deal with it!

Using a block to keep the HWC from rolling back, I measured out 20', that's 16' for the hoop and 18"-24" apron on either side. I cut it, one square at a time then unrolled another 20' on top of the first. I did double check with the tape measure!

Before cutting off the second 20' section from the roll I like to run a zip-tie through the end of the remaining part, to hold the last 10' together.

Repeat the steps for the second roll of HWC.

Now came the assistance from my son.


He grabbed one end of the top 20' HWC section, I grabbed the other end, and we placed it over the top of the hoop, then slid it towards the back wall. After checking that there was a 24" apron on each side we adjusted the HWC about 3" past the wooden back.

I secured it on the cattle panel with a couple zip-ties, then we repeated the process of adding the HWC over the hoop. I made sure to overlap each section of HWC a couple inches over the previous section, then secured it in place with a couple zip-ties.

It came up short at the door end, but as it came up short on the first hoop coop I didn't sweat it. I still have two 10' sections of HWC that I will use for the remaining portion.

At this point it was clouding up, so I quickly secured the HWC at the back end, starting near the top, flattening and tightening the HWC with each zip-tie so it lays flat.

Now just comes the tedious fastening of the HWC to the cattle panels, using zip-ties, and then attaching it to the wood frame with deck screws and fender washers.

And cutting the ends off all those zip-ties!

Oh, and the door...